Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Golf Swing Drills/Training Aids do Work!

I would like to show how a little dedicated practice utilizing the correct drills can improve your golf swing. This is my student Stephen J. and he had an issue with getting the golf club too much behind him and a little flat at the top of the swing. This position was causing very inconsistent golf shots.

In the picture on the left below, this is how it would look if the hands are too much behind you. I like the hands to be higher and more in alignment with the right shoulder as shown in the picture on the right. The red line indicates an extension of the golf club and it is pointing way outside the target line. This is called a very "flat" position. The yellow line indicates the ideal position of the golf club at this point. The yellow line will be very similar to the shaft position at set up. If the club was positioned more on the yellow line it would feel very upright to the golfer, but would be on plane.

In the video below, I utilized a training aid from Eyeline Golf called the Speed Trap. The Speed Trap is a durable plastic board and comes with foam extensions. They help direct the golfer to swing the golf club between the extensions. There are many ways to place the extensions to correct various path or plane issues. They simply attach with Velcro so if the golfer strikes them, they go flying. If the golfer is swinging too much from the inside on the downswing, then the extensions are placed as pictured. I also placed an alignment rod next to the rear extension. Note the angle of the rod matches the angle of the shaft of the golf club. This drill really helped Stephen get the club more "up" and on plane in the backswing. It also helped him not drop the club so much to the inside on the downswing or he would strike the alignment rod.

Close up of the Speed Trap

After working on the drill with a short iron for 15-20 minutes Stephen was able to get the correct feel for the backswing. He began to get the club on the correct plane and started hitting the ball much higher and straighter.

We also performed a few other drills from my Swing Drill Library which helped him as well. In fact, we performed the 1-2-3-4 Drill which I demonstrated in the post below. I have to be prepared to have many ways to explain and demonstrate correct golf swing positions and feels. Something which works for one golfer may not work for the next.

This was Stephen's second lesson and with more focused practice he will begin to break his old habits.